FRONTENAC ET PALLUAU, LOUIS DE BUADE, COMTE DE (162o-1698), French-Canadian statesman, governor and lieutenant-general for the French king in La Nouvelle France (Canada), son of Henri de Buade, colonel in the regiment of Navarre, was born in the year 1620. Louis de Buade served in 1635 under the prince of Orange in Holland, and fought in many engagements in the Low Countries and in Italy. His service seems to have been continuous until the conclusion of the peace of Westphalia in 1648, when he returned to his father's house in Paris and married Anne de la Grange-Trianon, a girl of great beauty, who later became the friend and confidante of Madame de Montpensier. Incompatibility of temper led to a separation, the count retiring to his estate on the Indre, where by an extrava gant course of living he became hopelessly involved in debt. In 1669, when France sent a contingent to assist the Venetians in the defence of Crete against the Turks, Frontenac was placed in command of the troops on the recommendation of Turenne. In this expedition he won military glory; but his fortune was not improved.
At this period the affairs of New France claimed the attention of the French Court. Frontenac was appointed to succeed Remy de Courcelle as governor, and arrived in Quebec on Sept. 12, 1672. It was immediately evident that he proposed to pursue a policy of colonial expansion, and to exercise an independence of action that did not coincide with the views of Louis XIV., or of his minister Colbert. One of the first acts of the governor, by which he sought to establish in Canada the three estates—nobles, clergy and people—met with the disapproval of the French court, and measures were adopted to curb his ambition by increasing the power of the sovereign council and by reviving the office of intendant. Frontenac soon became involved in quarrels with the intendant touching questions of precedence, and with those priests who ventured to criticize his proceedings. The church in Canada had been administered for many years by the religious orders; for the see of Quebec had not yet been erected. But three years after the arrival of Frontenac a former vicar apostolic, Francois Xavier de Laval de Montmorenci, returned to Quebec as bishop, with a jurisdiction over the whole of Canada. In him the governor found a vigorous opponent who was determined to render the state subordinate to the church. Frontenac had issued trading licences which permitted the sale of intoxicants. The bishop, sup ported by the intendant, endeavoured to suppress this trade, and sent an ambassador to France to obtain remedial action. The views of the bishop were upheld, and henceforth authority was divided. Troubles ensued between the governor and the sovereign council, most of the members of which sided with the one perma nent power in the colony—the bishop; while the intrigues of the intendant, Duchesneau, were a constant source of strife. At last both governor and intendant were recalled to France in the year 1682.
During Frontenac's first administration many improvements had been made in the country. The defences had been strength ened, a fort was built at Cataraqui (now Kingston), Ontario, bearing the governor's name, and conditions of peace had been fairly maintained between the Iroquois on the one hand and the French and their allies, the Ottawas and the Hurons, on the other. The recall of the governor was ill-timed. The Iroquois were as suming a threatening attitude towards the inhabitants, and Fron tenac's successor, La Barre, was quite incapable of leading an army against such cunning foes. At the end of a year La Barre was replaced by the marquis de Denonville, a man of ability and courage, who, though he showed some vigour in marching against the western Iroquois tribes, angered rather than intimidated them, and the massacre of Lachine (5th of August, 1689) must be regarded as one of the unhappy results of his administration.
The affairs of the colony were now in a critical condition, and Louis XIV. once more sent out Frontenac. He arrived in Quebec as governor for the second time on Oct. 15, 1689, and confidence was at once restored. But on Oct. 16, 1690, several New England ships under the command of Sir William Phipps appeared off the Island of Orleans, and an officer was sent ashore to demand the surrender of the fort. Frontenac repulsed the enemy and pre pared to follow up his advantage by an attack on Boston from the sea, but his resources were inadequate for the undertaking. In 1696 Frontenac, now 76 years of age, decided to take the field against the Iroquois. On July 6 he left Lachine for the village of the Onondagas, where he arrived a month later. In the meantime the Iroquois had abandoned their villages, and as pursuit was im practicable the army commenced its return march on Aug. 1o. Frontenac died on Nov. 28, 1698 at the Château St. Louis after a brief illness, deeply mourned by the Canadian people. He was fearless, resourceful and decisive, and triumphed as few men could have done over the difficulties and dangers of a most critical position.
See Count Frontenac, by W. D. Le Sueur (Toronto, 1906) ; Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV., by Francis Parkman (Boston, 1878) ; Le Comte de Frontenac, by Henri Lorin (Paris 1895) ; Frontenac et ses amis, by Ernest Myrand (Quebec, 1902).
(A. G. D.)